Chain restaurants, battered by value-hungry customers and rising commodity prices, are showing little appetite for significant menu price increases, according to a new survey of industry executives conducted by SpenDifference, a supply chain co-op that helps restaurants save money.

This will be the year that retailers take mobile seriously in all its forms and in all areas of the company. Of course, e-tailers have been highly aware of the need to employ mobile as another channel for the customer, but brick-and-mortar retailers are opening their eyes to the possibilities as well.

When chains listen to their customers and create localized store inventory, and then they listen more and accept online returns to any store the shopper chooses, they run into inventory train wrecks.

A diverse coalition of more than 120 local, state and national stakeholders, ranging from farmers and manufacturers to retailers and wholesalers sent a letter to the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and United States Maritime Alliance Ltd. (USMX) urging both sides to remain at the negotiating table until they "reach a new long-term contract."

Noha Tohamy, research vice president with Gartner, identifies the proactive strategies that leading companies are using to manage supply-chain risk today.

How people speak is as important as the words they say when it comes to sentiment analysis. "The human voice is made of many repeating patterns," said Amir Liberman, CEO of Nemesysco. "Everything that attracts your attention will generate a slight disturbance in these patterns. We look carefully at this voice chart, and we identify disturbances."

aPriori, a vendor of software for product cost management, has released an update of its platform. The tool aids in cost control by providing design, engineering, sourcing and manufacturing professionals with knowledge and technology infrastructure, helping them to determine the cost of a part or complete product.